


The Guest

by Starlithorizon



Series: Alchemy and Guitar Ties [8]
Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, babysitting sort of, more like houseguest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-31
Updated: 2013-01-31
Packaged: 2017-11-27 15:12:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/663438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starlithorizon/pseuds/Starlithorizon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While Douglas is stuck on the Isle of Man (sadly not in Douglas), his daughter is dropped off in Fitton. Luckily, Martin and Arthur are able to save the day!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Arrival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything I know about the Isle of Man is courtesy of Google Earth. For all I know, they could have a bustling airport that doesn't close at six. But, you know, creative license and all that jazz.

Douglas was somewhere on the Isle of Man (Derbyhaven, to be precise) when he got the phone call. The woman on the other end of the line was less than thrilled to be speaking to him at all, but it could hardly be helped. He was quite pleased to hear that his daughter Hannah was to spend the week with him (oh, the beauty if Easter break), and his ex-wife was quite decidedly _not_  happy about it.

"We'll be on our way shortly," the Ex said curtly. "She'll be there around seven."

"I shall look forward to it," Douglas said smoothly, barely able to keep his smile in check. "Lovely talking to you, as ever."

And when he rung off, he found Carolyn blustering his way, muttering and looking positively murderous.

"These idiots think that a bit of _drizzle_  makes for dangerous conditions!" she snarled. "I cannot believe that every aircraft has been grounded! We've flown in worse!"

Douglas finally looked out a window, distressingly unsurprised to find that the pearlescent overcast sky had suddenly opened with a positively torrential downpour, complete with booming thunder and cracks of lighting splitting the sky. It was already four in the afternoon—there was absolutely no way they'd be able to file the flight plan and take off by six, when the airport essentially shut for the night. Leave it to the Isle of Man to master a two-bit airport.

Carolyn was raging about having to find accommodation for the night, muttering about the horror of having to pay for two rooms ("No way in hell am I rooming with you.") while Douglas tried to figure out what to do. Hannah was going to arrive at an empty house in three hours, which the Ex would likely groan about while lording it over him. He could see about Hannah coming the next day, but the Ex would likely say "Tonight or not at all!"

Really, there was only one solution.

He dialed the first number and hoped that it would be met well.

* * *

"Douglas just rang," Martin said slowly. His voice had a funny, strange sort of quality to it that meant he was a bundle of emotions. As they'd been together for quite a long while, Arthur could read them as Confusion, Nervousness, and Pride.

"Oh, that's nice!" Arthur chirped. Martin shook his head.

"He and Carolyn are basically _trapped_  at the Isle of Man Airport, and, well, his daughter was to come tonight."

"Oh, that's horrible!" Arthur said sympathetically.

"Yeah, so he asked us if she could stay here for the night."

A switch was flipped in Arthur, and he went from sad sympathy to eager happiness.

"Oh, _brilliant_! How long do we have?"

"Uh, she should be here around seven, so a little less than three hours..."

"Perfect! Oh, I've got _so_  many ideas!"

The rest of the afternoon was spent readying their little house for their overnight guest. Arthur brought out a small selection of games from the cupboard, Martin put a few of Arthur's films beside the television, and they ran to the shop to pick up a few groceries to keep a twelve-year-old girl and a somewhat-older-than-twelve-years-old steward happily fed for the night. They even managed to figure out how the sofa in the study converted to a bed, which was a bit of a feat between the two of them. Luckily for everyone involved, they managed to make the place suitable for their young guest with time to spare.

"Her mum knows where we live, right, Skip?" Arthur asked five minutes after seven. Martin smiled up at his love.

"Yes, of course. Douglas gave her our address. And he did say _around_ seven, you know."

"Oh, yeah, right. Okay."

A car pulled up outside just past half seven. There were two slamming car doors, one a bit after the other. A young, familiar, female voice sounded, crying _Bye, Mum, love you!_  over the purring engine of a BMW that had missed a sugar brick so long ago.

Steps up the walk made Arthur beam with expectant jubilation. Martin opened the door before she had the chance to knock, smiling at the girl.

Yes, Hannah Richardson had arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, do you know what I know about airports, airplanes, and flying in inclement weather? If you guessed "nothing," you would be very, very correct.


	2. Good Night

"Hi, Hannah!" Arthur greeted exuberantly as Martin ushered her inside. She smiled at them both and was given just enough time to put her bags down before Arthur attacked her with a bear hug. She let out a laughing squeak that made Martin grin. The moment she was released, she offered Martin a hug as well.

As Douglas had been with MJN almost from the beginning, Arthur had known Hannah very nearly from birth. Martin had only known her for the past few years, but that was ample time for her to decide that she loved both the captain and the steward immensely.

"How've you been, Hannah?" Martin asked, picking up her things and moving them to the study. She and Arthur followed like puppies.

"Pretty good. I've got good marks so far. I'm the best in my history and maths classes," she said proudly. She spoke with a sort of superior cadence that made anyone who'd ever met Douglas immediately think of him. She had the same big, dark eyes as well, and wicked cleverness. It was quite obvious that she was the FO's daughter. Despite her genetic source, she was also cheerful and selflessly kind, likely a direct result of spending time with Arthur during her formative years.

"Why's my dad in _Derbyhaven_?" she asked, wrinkling her nose. Martin laughed at the slightly snobbish display.

"He and Carolyn are on a cargo job. Luckily, Arthur and I got the day off. Something about Arthur and a pig and not being allowed anywhere near the airport." Arthur looked a bit sheepish, ducking his head and allowing Martin to take back all the attention. "Anyway, what's wrong with Derbyhaven?"

"My friend Mia is from there. She says it's awful."

"Oh, it was brilliant!" Arthur cried. "You know, until the whole _pig_  thing. And really, it wasn't my fault! How was I to know that it would take to Surprising Rice so badly?!"

Which, of course, only raised more questions than it answered.

Martin picked up the conversational reigns again, hoping to steer it somewhere less...frightening.

"So, Hannah, are you hungry?"

As if on cue, the girl's stomach growled. Her caretakers led her to the kitchen where Arthur was looking through one of the cookbooks Martin had insisted upon.

"It won't be as interesting as Surprising Rice or Curried Excellence, but we can make...chicken Parmesan, fried chicken, or Pad Thai."

The three of them prepared the Pad Thai with a minimum of fuss, Hannah and a significant time spent in domesticity making them a well-oiled machine. While dinner turned out as it was meant to, and quite good indeed, Arthur had free reign over dessert. He presented Hannah and his Skipper with chocolate-vanilla swirl ice cream and a dizzying variety of toppings, including (but _certainly_ not limited to) Jelly Babies, strawberry jam, and miniature chocolate chips.

With their concoctions safely ensconced in bowls (Hannah's was the tamest, in fact. Martin was helpless when it came to Jelly Babies), the three retired to the living room for a showing of Hannah's favourite film, _Lady and the Tramp_.

Douglas phoned at half nine, and Martin relinquished the phone to the girl after a moment. She didn't head into the study to talk to her dad, so Arthur paused the film and _crunched_  on his ice cream. Crisps were not the scariest thing to have ever found its way into the steward's ice cream, though, so Martin didn't question it.

"Hey, Daddy," Hannah said into the phone. She chattered with Douglas for a bit, telling him that staying with Martin and Arthur was _brilliant_  and that she couldn't wait to see him.

When she rang off, she relayed a message of thanks to her caretakers, who appreciated it greatly. Especially Martin, of course.

Eventually, they finished the film. They watched a bit of telly, indulging Hannah with one of her favourite American shows (something about gossip that left Martin feeling a bit scandalised), but by eleven, she was down for the count. Arthur did the dishes and cleaned up as Martin helped the girl to bed. Though she was twelve, Martin allowed a bit of uncle-y affection and kissed her on the top of her head as she headed into her room. She threw her arms round his waist and yawned all at once, making him smile hugely.

"Night, Martin," she mumbled around another yawn. He grinned and ruffled her hair.

"See you in the morning, Hannah."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if anyone wants to tell me what happened with Arthur, a pig, and Surprising Rice, please do so. I have NO idea. It's almost to scary a thing to think of.


	3. Good Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, flubber2kool is awesome and wrote up a short, sweet, and mildly horrifying story in the comments on chapter two. Now we know what happened with Arthur and the pig, and why he's not allowed at the Isle of Man Airport. And now we know that we never really wanted to know in the first place.

Martin awoke to a few different, interesting things the next morning. They were, in order of notice: the smell of breakfast wafting in from the kitchen, the sounds of two voices trying (and failing) to be quiet, the gentle strains of a song played on a radio turned low, and a disappointing lack of Arthur by his side. Martin yawned and stretched before rolling to his feet. As he shuffled into the kitchen, he was greeted by the lovely sight of Arthur dancing in front of the hob. He had a spatula in one hand and a plate in the other.

"Morning, guys," Martin yawned. Hannah smiled up at him from her place at the table.

"Morning, Martin."

Arthur took a brief moment to spin away from the hob, just long enough to press a sweet kiss to Martin's lips. He twirled back to his cooking duties with a grin. Hannah wore a nose wrinkled in disgust (because, really, no kid likes to see family express love physically) above a wide and sunny grin.

"What are you cooking over there, love?" Martin asked, sidling closer to Arthur.

"Chocolate chip pancakes, eggs, and bacon," the steward replied. "I'm almost done with the first batch of everything."

Martin kissed Arthur's cheek and reached around him to turn the radio up. He could clearly hear the song now, an old cheerful melody with a great, almost orchestral backing. Arthur's dancing became more noticeable, and he began to hum along.

Martin leaned against the counter, soaking in the blissfully golden sunlight. He was reveling in the beautiful domesticity of this scene too, of Hannah giggling at Arthur's silly voice as he crooned along. This was lovely and perfect and how on earth had Martin gone so long without this in his life?

Arthur piled the plate in his hand with food and placed it before their guest with a flourish.

" _Bon appetit_!" Arthur crowed before returning to the hob.

"My mum never lets me have stuff like this!" Hannah said excitedly, cutting into a pancake.

"Well, it's quite lucky you have Arthur here to save the day," Martin laughed.

Soon, Martin and Arthur were eating too, and Martin was struck with the easy domesticity again. They chattered over the steaming plates, lapsed into comfortable quiet, and simply enjoyed the peaceful morning together. Martin had actually been a bit worried at first, since she was their first overnight guest, and this was the first time either of them had spent so much time with her without Douglas. His fears had been unfounded, of course, and quickly done away with.

After their meal, the boys sent Hannah into the living room while they did the dishes. They fell into their easy harmony, Martin washing and Arthur drying and putting away. The radio still sang in the background, and it wasn't long before the dishes were done and the pair was swaying in the sunlight. Billie Holiday serenaded them as Martin rested his head on Arthur's shoulder. The taller man kissed his Skipper on the top of the head.

"Hey, guys, my dad rang," Hannah called from the living room. When she didn't get a response, she wandered into the kitchen where the men were still dancing.

" _Ahem_."

They didn't spring apart at her announcement. Rather they both turned to look at her, dopey, besotted smiles on their faces.

"My dad rang," she said again. "He said that they'll be leaving soon and he'll call once he's in Fitton."

"Oh, that's great," Arthur said, smile turning from dopey to sunny.

Martin could hear something in her voice, a quiet thread that almost sounded like disappointment.

Martin smiled at the girl and extricated himself from Arthur enough to pull her into a swaying dance. The song changed to something bright and exuberant, however, and soon the three were jiving around the kitchen. This continued for about twenty minutes before Hannah decided to go and get dressed. Martin and Arthur followed her example, though the two gentlemen found themselves a wee bit distracted while dressing. They made it out eventually, looking quite like decent members of society. Douglas rang just before noon to say that he was at the Fitton airfield, just getting into his car. Hannah grinned at the phone once he rang off and darted into the study to make sure her things were in order.

Fifteen minutes later, Douglas was at the door, smiling down at his daughter. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his waist, and her head was resting lightly on his chest.

"I missed you, Daddy," she said, voice slightly muffled against his uniform. The older man grinned and kissed his daughter on the top of her head.

"I missed you too, sweetheart."

Martin and Arthur carried her bags to the Lexus so that Hannah wouldn't have to let go Iof her dad. She did, though, long enough to wind her skinny arms around the Captain and steward in Arthur-esque hugs.

"I'll make sure we get to spend more time together this week," she said seriously, though the seriousness was difficult to take seriously when she smiled so hugely.

Arthur positively beamed.

The two smiled and waved at the Lexus until it turned a corner. Then, with a light kiss, they went back inside.

**Author's Note:**

> So, as always, everything is unbeta'd and decidedly not Brit-picked. I've done the best my abilities will let me, and also consciously ignored mistakes that alert you to my very distinctly American ways.  
> So...  
> Yeah.


End file.
